Document Disclosure and Return Policy

Welcome,

For over 35 years, April King has safely and securely held tens of thousands of original documents for our clients. The vast majority of our clients choose to store their original Wills with us rather than keep them at home, and for good reason. If an original Will cannot be found after someone has died, the law assumes it was deliberately destroyed to cancel it, which can leave your family in a stressful legal limbo, having to prove otherwise at an already difficult time.

This page explains how to obtain original documents, file copies, or certified copies from us, as well as what we need from you. Original legal documents, such as a Will, carry significant legal weight and contain private, sensitive personal information. They require great care and attention, and we have a duty to keep them safe. The checks below protect you, your estate, and your family from fraud and unauthorised access.

How We Handle Requests

Our Document team deals with every request in the order it arrives, and we can only begin once we have the correct supporting documents and any payment that is due. We strongly recommend reading this page closely before you send anything: the most common cause of delay is incorrect or incomplete supporting documents, so sending everything correctly the first time is the best way to help us return your documents promptly.

Every request must be set out in writing and signed by you in ink, by hand, on the document itself. This is known as a 'wet' signature. A typed name or an electronic signature is not enough. Once you have signed the written request by hand, you are welcome to send us a clear photograph or scan of the signed request. This requirement helps us prevent unauthorised or fraudulent requests.

Fees and Delivery

An administration and retrieval fee applies to all requests, except when you collect your documents in person by appointment (see Collecting in Person below). Our fees for returning your original documents are:

• Lasting Power(s) of Attorney: £30 + VAT (£36 inc. VAT). This is a flat fee for one to four LPAs, returned by standard Royal Mail Tracked service.
• Single Will: £25 + VAT (£30 inc. VAT).
• Couple (two Wills): £35 + VAT (£42 inc. VAT).
• Original house deeds: £30 + VAT (£36 inc. VAT). This includes Special Delivery (Next Working Day & Insurance).

Unless we agree otherwise, we return approved documents by Royal Mail Tracked service. You can upgrade the return postage, at the time of request, to Special Delivery for an extra £14.17 + VAT (£17 inc. VAT), for faster, more secure, and better-insured delivery. This speeds up the delivery only, not how quickly we process your request.

Copy Charges

There are two kinds of copy:

• A certified copy is a copy of your document that has been legally certified by a Solicitor. We can only provide one if we hold the original document. It costs £25 + VAT (£30 inc. VAT) per copy.
• A photocopy is a plain copy with no legal standing. A single photocopy of a Will or document costs £18 + VAT (£21.60 inc. VAT). Two photocopies, for example a couple's two Wills (Mr & Mrs), cost £30 + VAT (£36 inc. VAT).

Requesting Your Documents

The guidance below is for clients requesting their own documents

Your Will

We can only return an original Will to the person who made it (the "Testator"). Please send us:

• your photo ID, and
• a written request, hand-signed by you in ink (a 'wet' signature).

If you have moved since making your Will, we may also ask for proof of your current address, such as a utility bill or council tax bill.

Your Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)

We rarely hold LPAs, as they are documents to be used during your lifetime. After your LPA has been registered it comes to us, and we then forward it to you. There is only one original LPA, and it is generally returned to you once we have received it from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), the government body that registers these documents.

In the rare event that we are still holding your LPA, you can ask for it back at any time by sending your photo ID and a hand-signed written request (a 'wet' signature).

If you are a couple and you each want your own documents, you must each send your own photo ID and both provide a hand-signed written request.

If you cannot find your original LPA, we would recommend searching for it thoroughly first. We are unable to provide replacement copies, and the only place to obtain usable replacement copies is the OPG. You can find their contact details here.

Need help?

If you're unsure what documents to provide, don't hesitate to contact our Support Team using our Contact Page.

Requesting Documents for Someone Else

This section is for Executors and Attorneys acting for another person.

If more than one person needs to sign: where we need hand-signed consent from several Executors or Attorneys, you do not all have to sign the same document. Each of you can send your own separate hand-signed request instead.

A Will, When the Person Has Died (for Executors)

We can only release an original Will to the Executor(s) named in it, and only after the person who made it has died. Please send:

• their death certificate,
• photo ID for every Executor, and
• hand-signed written consent (a 'wet' signature) from every Executor.

There is only one original Will, so all Executors must agree, in their hand-signed request, on the single address we should send it to.

A Will, While the Person Is Still Alive (for Attorneys)

If you are an Attorney, we may release a photocopy of the Will where the donor (the person who made the LPA) has lost mental capacity, certain duty of care conditions are met, and nothing in the power prevents us from sharing it. This is always at our discretion. Please send:

• the full copy of the registered Property & Finance LPA or Enduring Power of Attorney,
• your photo ID,
• a hand-signed written request (a 'wet' signature), and
• a letter from the donor's GP or medical professional confirming they no longer have capacity.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (for Attorneys)

We rarely hold LPAs. There is only one original LPA, and it is generally returned to the donor (client) once we have received it from the OPG. Attorneys are not issued their own usable copies of an LPA, unless the donor has physically given the registered document to the Attorney. If you are an Attorney and need a usable copy, the only place to obtain one is the OPG's office copy service.

In the rare event that we are holding the original LPA and are able to release it, we would require your photo ID, a hand-signed written request (a 'wet' signature), and a letter from the donor's GP or medical professional confirming the donor no longer has capacity. Where Attorneys are appointed jointly, we need photo ID and hand-signed consent from all of them.

Need Help?

If you're unsure what documents to provide, don't hesitate to contact our Support Team using our Contact Page.

Collecting in person

Instead of posting, you are welcome to collect your documents from our Nottingham Head Office by appointment, at a time and date agreed with us. There is no charge when you collect in person.

You may collect them yourself, or they may be collected by your authorised legal representative or by an Attorney under a registered LPA, where the conditions in this policy are met. All our usual security checks still apply: we must receive and check every required ID and authority document, including your hand-signed written request, before we confirm your appointment, and whoever collects must bring their original photo ID on the day.

Where there is only one original (such as a Will) and more than one Executor or Attorney is involved, we need written agreement from all of them on who will collect it.

Frequently Asked Questions

This notice serves as the official policy of April King Legal regarding the disclosure and return of all legal documents and any requests concerning your personal information.

Please note that these strict security requirements apply to all requests under the General Data Protection Regulation and other data protection rules. We ask for these specific supporting documents because we have a fundamental legal duty to verify your identity and protect your highly sensitive data from unauthorised access or fraud.

To ensure we continuously meet our strict legal and professional obligations, this policy is subject to change and may be updated as compliance regulations evolve.